App protects athletes from heat illnesses

It may be a cold, rainy Sydney winter evening, but for football coach Gabriel Knowles, training under floodlights rather than the intense Australian sun is a welcome relief. The well-being of his team is always a priority for Knowles, especially when it comes to heat management during matches and training sessions, a major concern in Australia. “We've taken to having fans and misting fans in change rooms and on the benches, wet towels for the players as well. The drinks break is obviously a contentious new issue in the World Cup, but something that's been quite normal here for us in the warmer months when we start and finish seasons,” explains the NWS National Premier League football coach. Grant Lynch plays semiprofessional football on Knowles’ team. He says that heat is a constant preoccupation for players. “We have had to cancel a number of games because of the heat. Here in Australia, the competition is played over summer, or there's a big part of the competition that's played over summer. So, we have multiple games that have been cancelled because of the heat,” he says. But when it comes to playing in the best possible conditions, Lynch has a secret weapon. He works as a researcher at the University of Sydney, and the team he is a part of has created a free app called Sports Heat Tool. It could literally be a game changer for ordinary people who play recreational sport and don’t have access to the state-of-the-art tools that elite sport has. “It helps in a few ways. I think the first way is that we take into account more than just temperature. So, we care about things like humidity and airflow and wind speed and the amount of solar radiation from the sun. These things are all important to be able to understand what the risk is for a football player. And then secondly, it gives some recommendations. So, some strategies that you can put in place to be able to help keep yourself cool,” says Lynch. This article was provided by The Associated Press.